House Republicans plan vote on expanding visas

House Republicans are planning a vote next week on immigration legislation that would expand visas for foreign science and technology students, the Associated Press is reporting, in what may be a first step toward an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system.

In addition to expanding visas for certain students, the so-called STEM Jobs Act would make it easier for those with green cards to bring their families to the U.S.

Republican contender Mitt Romney fared poorly in the presidential election with Hispanics compared to President Barack Obama, and Republicans have indicated that the GOP is ready to make immigration reform — sought by many Hispanics — a priority.

The bill stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. A prior version was voted on in September but didn’t pass. The version to be voted on next week includes the new provision about allowing the families of those with green cards to wait for their own green cards while in the U.S. Some immigration advocates have long sought that provision, the AP said.

A spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican and major supporter of the bill, told the AP that the bill is “family friendly, helping spouses and minor children who would otherwise be separated from their families for extended periods of time.”

The bill appears certain to pass the House but it’s unclear whether it will make it through the Democratic-controlled Senate in the short lame-duck session.